Dutch AI Firm Nebius to Build Major Data Center Campus in Independence, Backed by New $2B Power Plant
December 22, 2025
The city of Independence, Missouri, is poised to become a significant hub for artificial intelligence infrastructure following the approval of a multi-billion-dollar project combining a new power station with a massive data center campus. The deal highlights the intense competition among U.S. regions to attract capital-intensive AI and data center investments, which require vast amounts of reliable power and land.
The Independence City Council unanimously approved a development plan on December 1 for a new, privately-funded power plant. To be built by Independence Power Partners—a Delaware-based entity backed by Exigent Energy and United Energy Trading—the facility will rise on a 91-acre site formerly occupied by the Blue Valley Power Plant. The project's first phase, slated to begin next year, involves constructing a 225-megawatt natural gas power station with 15 turbines. A second phase would expand capacity to 800 megawatts using advanced natural gas and steam turbine technology. The development is funded by $2 billion in industrial revenue bonds, for which Independence Power Partners assumes liability.
Crucially, this dedicated power source was instrumental in securing a separate agreement with Amsterdam-based AI technology company Nebius. On December 5, Nebius finalized the purchase of 398 acres in the NorthPoint Development’s EastGate Commerce Center, where it plans to construct a 2.5-million-square-foot data center complex across eight to 10 buildings. Construction is expected to begin in early 2026, with the full build-out of both the data center and power station projected for completion by 2030 or 2031.
City officials view the project as a transformative economic catalyst. “Development breeds development in a lot of cases,” said Independence Assistant City Manager Charlie Dissell. “Now that we are starting to have more development in the EastGate Commerce Center, and this being a big project, I think other people will start to look at it seriously.” He emphasized that prior missed opportunities for large-scale projects were directly due to a lack of available power, a constraint this new plant resolves.
The project is structured through a series of agreements: the city-owned utility, Independence Power and Light (IPL), will purchase power from Independence Power Partners and then sell it directly to Nebius. Officials stress this “pass-through” model protects existing residential ratepayers from cost increases. Once operational, industrial power use in Independence is expected to shift from 50% to 80% of IPL's output, driven primarily by the Nebius facility.
While the project promises substantial economic benefits, including an estimated 125 permanent on-site technology jobs in addition to construction work, it has also raised community concerns regarding environmental impact and resource use. Dissell addressed these, stating the city shared these concerns “from the start.” He pointed to plans for an efficient natural-gas plant, a closed-loop water cooling system, and the city's Courtney Bend Water Treatment Plant, which he said has sufficient excess capacity—an average of 20 million gallons per day—to support the project without affecting residential water supply.
Nebius, which counts Microsoft and Meta among its clients, currently operates co-location spaces in Kansas City and New Jersey and runs data centers in Europe. The Independence campus will mark its first wholly owned and operated data center facility in the U.S. The project is scheduled for review by the Independence City Planning Commission on January 13, with potential full City Council consideration on January 20.
Source: kshb
